Environmental Group Launches $640,000 Ad Campaign in North Carolina to Tell Richard Burr to Stop Putting Polluter’s Profits Ahead of North Carolina’s Health

Raleigh, North Carolina – Today, the League of Conservation Voters launched a $640K broadcast and digital ad campaign in North Carolina. The first ad asks viewers to urge Senator Richard Burr to end his opposition to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which would place reasonable limits on carbon pollution for the first time. Senator Burr’s dangerous record of supporting unlimited carbon pollution puts the health of North Carolina families at risk. The US Senate is expected to consider votes on the EPA’s plan this month, including through the pending federal appropriations bills or measures seeking to overtly undermine the plan.

The campaign dramatically expands a satellite effort run in August. “Mom” will be followed by additional ads and activities from LCV and Climate Action NC, a project of the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters in the coming weeks. The ads, running in Raleigh-Durham, ask viewers to call Senator Burr and urge him to support the Clean Power Plan in upcoming votes in the Senate.

“People need to hold Senator Burr accountable for always supporting big polluters in Congress,” said Dan Crawford, Director of Government Relations for North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. “Our leaders at the state and Federal level should support the Clean Power Plan instead of allowing unlimited carbon emissions by big polluters. From Senator Burr, to Governor McCrory and his administration, opposition to the common-sense, reasonable solutions on carbon emissions in the clean power plan puts North Carolina families at risk and limits North Carolina’s ability to be a clean energy leader.”

The Environmental Protection Agency released the final Clean Power Plan on August 3, aiming to curb carbon pollution—the key driver of climate change—from power plants by 32 percent by 2030. That will help avoid 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks in children, and deliver total health benefits of $14 billion to $34 billion in 2030 to the American people, according to the EPA. In addition, average electric utility bills for consumers are projected to decline by more than $80 per year when the Clean Power Plan is fully implemented.